Omaha, NE – Several frightening moments today at an Omaha school for troubled young women.
What began as reports of an active shooter on the campus of Uta Halee Academy on the city’s far north side, turned into an apparent suicide.
According to the Douglas County Sheriff’s office, the lone victim is a man who had driven to the school about 12:30 this afternoon.
Douglas County Sheriff’s Department captain Steve Glandt says, “The campus was locked down, it was searched to make sure there was no other gunman. We found one person deceased with an apparent gunshot wound, and that’s likely the gunman.” Captain Glandt also says the women at the school are accounted for and safe in a secure location.
The Omaha World-Herald reports that school officials have identified the victim as the estranged husband of a staff member who was not on campus at the time.
During many anxious moments, students and teachers huddled on campus waiting for help to arrive.
Lieutenant Denise Rieder of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department says, “They remained in their secure locations until law enforcement arrived and ensured that it was a safe location and then we escorted them out to another location.”
Uta Halee is a residential treatment center for young women who have been the victims of neglect, abuse and mental illness.
